Planning Commission

City Council Chamber, 2nd Floor, Merced Civic Center, 678 W. 18th Street, Merced, CA 95340

Agenda — 21 items

1. 1 NOTICE TO PUBLIC
2. 2 WELCOME TO THE MEETING OF THE MERCED PLANNING COMMISSION
3. 3 At least 72 hours prior to each regular Planning Commission meeting, a complete agenda packet is available for review on the City's website at www.cityofmerced.org or at the Planning Division Office, 678 W. 18th Street, Merced, CA 95340. All public records relating to an open session item that are distributed to a majority of the Commission will be available for public inspection at the Planning Division Office during regular business hours. The Planning Commission also serves as the Board of Zoning Adjustment and the Design Review/Historic Preservation Commission. Assisted hearing devices are available for meetings held in the Council Chamber.
4. 4 PUBLIC COMMENT: OBTAIN SPEAKER CARD FROM THE CLERK
5. 5 Members of the audience who wish to address the Planning Commission are requested to complete a speaker card available at the podium against the right-hand side of the Council Chamber. Please submit the completed card to the Clerk before the item is called, preferably before the meeting begins. Speakers will be called up, 3 to 5 at a time, in the order in which the forms are received. Please use the microphone and state your name and city of residence for the record. For permits, licenses, and other entitlements, the applicant will be allowed 15 minutes (including rebuttal), the appellant/leader of the opposition will be allowed 15 minutes (including rebuttal), and all other speakers shall have 3 minutes each, unless the number of speakers is over 10, which in that case, comments shall be limited to 2 minutes each. For all other issues, for 3 or less speakers, 3 minutes each and for over 10 speakers, 2 minutes each shall be allotted. A timer clock is located above the City Council dais illuminating the remaining time. Once the buzzer sounds, please be courteous and conclude your remarks. Material may be emailed to planningweb@cityofmerced.org no later than 1 PM on the day of the meeting. Please specify which portion of the agenda you are commenting on, for example, Item # or Oral Communications. Your comments will be presented to the Planning Commission at the appropriate time. Any correspondence received after 1 PM will be distributed to the Planning Commission and retained for the official record.
6. A. CALL TO ORDER ▶ jump to 0:03
7. A.1. Moment of Silence ▶ jump to 0:10
8. A.2. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag ▶ jump to 0:17
9. B. ROLL CALL
10. C. PUBLIC COMMENT
11. 11 Members of the public who wish to speak on any matter not listed on the agenda may speak during this portion of the meeting and will be allotted 3 minutes. The Chairperson may, at their discretion, reduce the time to 2 minutes if there are more than 10 speakers, in order to accommodate as many speakers as possible. State law prohibits the Planning Commission from acting at this meeting on any matter raised during the public comment period. Members of the public who wish to speak on a matter that is listed on the agenda will be called upon to speak during discussion of that item. Please submit a Request to Speak card prior to the item being called.
12. D. CONSENT CALENDAR ▶ jump to 3:08
13. 13 Adoption of the Consent Calendar may be made with one motion of the Planning Commission provided that any Planning Commission member, individual, or organization may request removal of an item from the Consent Calendar for separate consideration. If a request for removal of an item from the Consent Calendar has been received, the item will be discussed and voted on separately. With Consent items, there is generally no staff presentation but staff is available for questions.
14. D.1 SUBJECT: Planning Commission Minutes of October 23, 2024 ACTION: Approving and filing the Planning Commission Minutes of October 23, 2024 24-1184 approved Pass
15. E. PUBLIC HEARINGS AND ACTION ITEMS
16. 16 Members of the public who wish to speak on public hearings listed on the agenda will be heard when the Public Hearing is opened, except on Public Hearing items previously heard and closed to public comment. After the public has commented, the item is closed to further public comment and brought to the Commission for discussion and action. Further comment will not be received unless requested by the Commission.
17. E.1 SUBJECT: Study Session on Housing Element Progress and General Plan Update and Central Merced/Downtown Rail Station Area Plan Request for Proposals ACTION: Discussion/Questions SUMMARY Staff will provide an update on the preparation of the City’s Sixth Cycle Housing Element. The City’s Sixth Cycle Housing Element was due to the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) on January 31, 2024. This update will review the City’s strategy for meeting the required Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), including the timeline for the zone changes needed to meet the RHNA shortfall, and the next steps in the Housing Element update process. Staff will also provide an update on the General Plan Update and Central Merced/Downtown Rail Station Area Plan Request for Proposals (RFP), which was issued in October 2024. RECOMMENDATION No action required. Discussion and questions only. 24-1171 ▶ jump to 4:19
18. F. INFORMATION ITEMS
19. F.1 SUBJECT: Report by Temporary Director of Development Services of Upcoming Agenda Items ACTION Information only. 24-1185
20. F.2 SUBJECT: Calendar of Meetings/Events Dec. 2 City Council, 6:00 p.m. 4 Planning Commission, 6:00 p.m. 10 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, 4:00 p.m. 16 City Council, 6:00 p.m. 18 Planning Commission, 6:00 p.m. (To be Cancelled) Jan. 6 City Council, 6:00 p.m. 8 Planning Commission, 6:00 p.m. 21 City Council, 6:00 p.m. (Tuesday) 22 Planning Commission, 6:00 p.m. 24-1186 ▶ jump to 37:49
21. G. ADJOURNMENT adjourned Pass ▶ jump to 40:14